India’s lonely and isolated consumers shopping for an in-store social experience
India’s lonely and isolated consumers shopping for an in-store social experience
复制标题
印度孤独和孤立的消费者购买店内社交体验
DOI:
10.1108/mip-12-2017-0338
复制
发表时间:
2018
影响因子:
4.4
通讯作者:
Alan J. Dubinsky
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Brent Smith;Cindy B. Rippé;Alan J. Dubinsky
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social loneliness, emotional loneliness and social isolation relate to Indian consumers’ enjoyment of social interaction with an in-store salesperson.
Design/methodology/approach
Over 300 Indian respondents are surveyed about personal disposition, shopping experiences and other factors. The research model and hypotheses are evaluated utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
As posited, Indian consumers dealing with loneliness and social isolation tend to enjoy in-store shopping experiences involving personal interactions with salespersons. Further, salespersons’ adaptive selling relates positively to consumers’ predisposition to comply with salesperson input and three outcomes (i.e. trust in salesperson, purchase intention and retail patronage).
Originality/value
This study fills a void in current marketing and retailing literature, providing one of the first known empirical investigations of consumers’ experiences with loneliness and social isolation. Overall, the study shows that store-based retailers within culturally collectivistic emerging markets can capitalize on their unique ability to attract and retain shoppers through in-store salesperson interactions.